Download - It's tough being a woman
BETH MOORE
estherit’s tough being a woman
Published by LifeWay Press®. ©2008 Beth Moore. Permission is granted to store, print, and distribute this document for its intended use. Distribution for sale is strictly prohibited. Address requests for additional permissions in writing to Leadership and Adult Publishing;
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Megillah
Diaspora
absence reference God
God’s Word
in it
it is on it
hope
providence of God
sustaining and guiding human
destiny
mundane trivial
happens chance
The Background of Esther in the Hebrew Bible and Tradition
The Book of Esther is also known as the _______________.
Historical Background
Like the Book of Daniel, Esther is a ______________ story.
The Uniqueness of the Book of Esther
1. The total _______________ of any ________________ to _______
Why study the Book of Esther?
• It’s part of __________ _________.
• Based on Psalm 138:2b God’s name may not be ______ _____,
but _____ _____ _____ _____.
• It offers tremendous ____________.
• It extends a vital perspective on the _______________ ____ _____.
Merriam Webster’s definition of providence: “God conceived as the
power ________________ _____ ____________ ____________
_____________.” Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary adds, “In so
doing [in His providence] God attends not only to apparently
momentous events and people but also to those that seem both
______________ and __________. … Indeed, so all encompassing
is God’s attention to events within creation that nothing …
_______________ by __________.”
8
viewer guide y introduction
esther
works out everything
purpose
works in you
purpose
woman’s name
in another woman’s shadow
human responsibility
human contribution
synergism
Ephesians 1:11—Even when we’re blind to the evidence, God
“__________ ______ ______________ in conformity with the
_____________ of His will.”
Philippians 2:13—God “_________ ____ _______ to will and to act
according to His good _____________.”
2. The title bears a _____________ ___________.
Throughout the next nine weeks we’ll consider different scenarios to
underscore the concept captured in our study’s title.
Scenario #1It’s tough being a woman ___ ________ _________ _________.
3. The God-ordained emphasis on ___________ _____________________
According to Word Biblical Commentary, the inspired author of Esther
“lays all the stress on the _________ _________________ to the
divine-human ______________” [combined or shared energy].
Video sessions are available for download at www.lifeway.com/women 9
introductio
n
Jew
only
time native member
exile
carried away captivity
carried away
carried away
sudden parent cousin
Today’s session introduces our protagonist and most vital
supporting actor. We will use these important “first mentions”
to help us draw character sketches of each based on what
we know and what we also might imagine.
Part One
A Character Sketch of Mordecai
• He was a _______ (6:10; 8:7; 9:31; 10:3; 5:13).
“Its significance is indicated by the fact that this is the __________
________ in the whole Old Testament that a ___________ ___________
of the community of Israel is named and identified by a gentilic.”1
• He was an ____________.
Esther 2:6 “employs the root of the word for exile (glh) in four distinct
constructions, lest the full measure of the Jewish plight be overlooked.”2
View the repetition in the King James Version: “Who had been
________ ________ from Jerusalem with the _____________ which
had been __________ ________ with Jeconiah king of Judah whom
Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had __________ ________.”
• He was a ___________ ____________ to his ____________.
32
esther 2:1-7viewer guide y session one
Hadassah
myrtle
fragrance
orphaned
brought up cousin
lovely
world where
beauty treatment
known Esther
star
conceal
Part Two
A Character Sketch of Esther
• She was named __________________.
This Jewish name comes from the word for “___________”
and means “________________.”3
• She was _______________.
• She was _______________ ______ by her male ____________.
• She was ___________.
Scenario #2It’s tough being a woman in a ____________ __________
___________ is a _________________.
• She was also __________ as ______________.
This Persian name means “__________.”
Perhaps even more significantly, “the name Esther comes from the
verbal root in Hebrew str, meaning ‘to _____________.’ ”4
Video sessions are available for download at www.lifeway.com/women 33
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1 •
A R
oy
al
Me
ss
esth
er 2
:1-7
in a mean world
Meanness history
explanation
disobeyed
Agag
Saul’s
Jew
King Saul
Scenario #3
It’s tough being a woman ____ ___ ________ ___________.
1. __________________ always has a _________________.
Consider the history of these two rivals.
The revealed
_____________________:
Deuteronomy 25:17-19
(Referring to Ex. 17:8-16.)
The ___________________
instruction:
1 Samuel 15:10-23,30
Haman, a presumed Amalekite and descendant
of ______________, their king during
______________ reign
Mordecai, a _______________ from the tribe of
Benjamin and a descendant of
_____________ _____________
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esther 3:1-5viewer guide y session two
esth
er 3:
1-5
The LORD
Meanness threat
Meanness virus
powerful angry
wrath
spirit
_ of Haman
within ourselves
Meanness curable
Exodus 17:16—“_______ ___________ will be at war against the
Amalekites from generation to generation.”
2. ______________ perceives a _________ (2 Cor. 10:12).
3. ______________ catches like a __________.
• The word Agag is believed to be related to an Assyrian term (agagu)
that means “to be _______________, vehement, ___________.”5
• The name “Haman” sounds similar to the Hebrew word for
__________ (Hebrew, heman).6 (Compare Prov. 22:24-25.)
Consider the following quote
“Surely as Christians we must recognize the ‘___________
_____ ___________’ not only in our world but
___________ ________________.”7
4. ______________ is ______________ (Rom. 12:17-21).
Video sessions are available for download at www.lifeway.com/women 57
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2 •
A C
on
tes
t fo
r a
Qu
ee
n
poor timing
unreasonable expectation
thrown a_
giant_ size weight
The Human Dilemma of DestinyMany of the biblical figures who fulfilled their God-appointed
destinies shared some of Esther’s basic inner conflicts.
Consider the dilemma of destiny from a human perspective:
1. The __________ _____________. Reflect on Esther 4:11b.
2. The ___________________ __________________.
Scenario #4
It’s tough being a woman ______________ ___
__________-__________ _____________.
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viewer guide y session three
esther 4:1-14
risky identification
one many
revelation
person
conceal
unanswered question
breaking off
left unsaid
silence
3. The ________ ___________________.
• Remember, destiny appoints _______ but affects ________.
• The ____________________ of a person’s destiny always demands
a revelation of the _____________. Consider the wording “if you
remain silent at this time.” The Hebrew word translated silent in this
verse can also be translated ________________.
4. The ________________ _____________.
(See verse 14.)
“The sentence contains a figure of speech known as aposiopesis—a
sudden _______________ ______ of what was being said or written
so that the mind is more impressed by what is _______ _________,
it being too wonderful, solemn or awful to verbalize. In English
this figure is sometimes called the ‘sudden ______________.’ ”8
esth
er 4
:1-14
Video sessions are available for download at www.lifeway.com/women 81
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3 •
A R
ag
ing
Pa
ss
ion
fo
r H
on
or
choice
overcome herself
faced the fear
fear
Part One
Our protagonist made three shifts that moved her
from self-preservation to brave determination.
1. Esther had a ___________.
“She [Esther] had to _____________ ___________ in order to
do what God had created her and positioned her to do.”9
2. Esther ____________ _______ __________.
Consider general fears, then our context’s specific fear:
• Facing any __________
And if ____________________________, then ___________. [your answers here]
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viewer guide y session four
esther 4:11-17
tight
fist of fear
death
cower scared to
death of death
shadow of death
perilous dying
took the courage
Scenario #5It’s tough being a woman in the __________
_________ ____ __________.
• Facing fear of __________
Hebrews 2:14-15 from The Message: “By embracing death,
taking it into himself, he destroyed the Devil’s hold on death
and freed all who ___________ through life, ___________ ____
__________ ____ __________.”
Recall a quote we discussed in week 3 of our homework:
“Living perpetually in the shadow of immanent catastrophe,
the Jew was threatened not only physically but psychologically.
Walking in the _____________ _______ ____________
was as _______________ as ___________.”10
3. Esther _________ ______ _______________
she was offered.
Video sessions are available for download at www.lifeway.com/women 105
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4 •
If
Yo
u R
em
ain
Sil
en
t
esth
er 4
:11-1
7
forces time
entrust
time
time to wait
silent
speak
silent
speak
words sound right
taste right
Sometimes God ___________ the issue of ________.
Amazingly, other times He seems to __________ it.
Reflect on the importance of knowing …
1. When it’s ________.
See verse 1. Compare Hosea 6:2.
2. When it’s _______ ____ _______.
Ecclesiastes 3:1,7 say, “There is a time for everything, and a season for
every activity under heaven … a time to be _________ and a time to
__________.”
• Sometimes we need to be __________ even when man invites us to
__________.
Consider the idiom, “Even up to half the kingdom.”
(Compare Mark 6:17-28.)
• Sometimes the _________ _________ ________, but they don’t
________ ________. See Job 34:2-4. (Compare 2 Cor. 6:1-2.)
128
esther 5:1-8viewer guide y session five
wait someone
else’s
right for Xerxes
right for Haman
personal
weakness
self-confidence to mature
meantime God-time
passion patience
3. When it’s time to __________ for __________________
__________ time.
• The time wasn’t __________ _______ ____________.
(Recall Mark 6:23.)
• The time wasn’t __________ _______ _______________.
Commentator Adele Berlin suggests the delay is “a clever move
on Esther’s part to disarm Haman and make him think he was
the center of attention. This plays to Haman’s _______________
________________.”11 Similarly, J. Gordon McConville
explains that the delay allowed time “for Haman’s misguided
___________________ ______ _____________.”12
4. When the ____________________ is ________________.
(See Isa. 40:31, KJV.)
Scenario #6
It’s tough being a woman who can balance
______________ with _________________.
Video sessions are available for download at www.lifeway.com/women 129
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5 •
A T
ab
le S
et
fo
r P
ro
vid
en
ce
esth
er 5:
1-8
The Reversal of Destiny
The Reversal of Fortunes
construction
work wonder
chiastic structure
inverted parallelism
reversal overarching
point
chi
Greek alphabet
The sixth chapter is “the hinge of the story of Esther.”13
God appoints or allows circumstances (often crises) in our lives
to redirect our paths. Today we explore the unexpected pivot
point of Esther by giving a name to an important concept in
the book: ______ ______________ ____ _______________ also
called ______ ___________ ___ ________ . Review Esther 6:6-11.
These reversals are part of a literary tapestry
that will open our eyes to see …
1. The beauty of the book’s ________________ .
Am I willing to do the _________ to see the ______________?
Two literary devices are employed magnificently in the Book of
Esther. The first is called “________________ ________________.”
What in the world is it? In its tightest form, chiastic structure is
______________ ______________. In other words, it is a
______________ of structures to emphasize an ______________
______________.
What’s the best way to picture it?
• The “________” that begins the word chiastic is the 22nd
letter of the _____________ ________________.
152
viewer guide y session six
esther 6:6-11
X
crisscross
feasts or banquets
instruction
subtlety
peripety
sudden turn
reverses
who feels
for the how
story
worth telling
It is written like this: ____. The letter itself represents the
_______________ literary structure of a chiasm (literally in Greek,
a crossing).
What’s the best example of it in the Book of Esther? Chiastic
structure is deliciously illustrated in the repeated occurrences of
___________ ______ _______________.
2. The beauty of the book’s ___________________.
Esther’s best theology is in its ____________. To offer a
perfect example, we’ll consider a second literary device called
“_____________.”
What in the world is it?
• “ Peripety: a ______________ __________ of events
that ______________ the expected or intended outcome”
particularly in a literary work.14
Scenario #7It’s tough being a woman ______ ________
responsible ____ ______ “________.”
“A peripeteia swiftly turns a routine sequence of events into a ________
_____________ ___________.”15
Video sessions are available for download at www.lifeway.com/women 153
We
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6 •
Wh
at
Go
es
Aro
un
d
esth
er 6
:6-1
1
turn around a step
stepped through
what he was to her
related
stepped off
stepped in
stepped up
Esther 7–8:2 shows the impact of the climactic
events on all four major players.
Every _______-_________ starts with ____ _________.
1. Esther __________ ___________.
(See Esther 7:3 and 8:1.)
“Literally, ‘_______ _____ ______ _____ ______.’ The author
probably intended to convey more than is being suggested
by the translation ‘that he was __________ to her.’ ”16
2. Haman __________ _______.
(See Esth. 7:10. Compare Ps. 7:15-16.)
3. Xerxes __________ ______.
(See Esth. 8:1. Compare 2 Cor. 8:9.)
4. Mordecai __________ _____.
(See Esth. 8:1-2.)
Now see the “Turn It Around!” page and fill in the appropriate blanks.*
*Editor’s Note: This form is available in the leader guide and online at www.lifeway.com/bethmoore.
174
esther 7–8:2viewer guide y session seven
Lord knows how
he knows how
longs
wait
waits wait
fame truth
Turn Around Scenario #7It’s tough being a woman who feels responsible for the “how.”
“The _______ _______ ______ to rescue the godly from trials and to
keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment.”
(2 Pet. 2:9, HCSB)
“For ____ _________ _____ we are formed, he remembers that we
are dust.” (Ps. 103:14)
Turn Around Scenario #6It’s tough being a woman who can balance passion
with patience.
“Yet the LORD _________ to be gracious to you; he rises to show
you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all
who _________ for him.” (Isa. 30:18)
“The Lord __________ … blessed are all those who ________
for Him.” (ESV)
“That same day,” Esther 8:1
“Rather than love, than money, than _________ give me _________.
— Henry David Thoreau (Walden, 1854)
Video sessions are available for download at www.lifeway.com/women 175
esth
er 7
–8:
2W
ee
k 7
• W
he
re i
s t
he
Ma
n?
turn a table never
set against you
delivered empowered
Mordecai’s theirs
tight fist
tighter
engraved you palms of my hands
Today’s chapter explicitly states the Book of Esther’s most pronounced theme—the reversal of destiny. We will glance ahead to Esther 9:19-22 and then focus on verses 1-4. Esther 9:1 says, “but now the tables were
turned.” The Hebrew transliteration for “the tables were turned” is hapak which means “to overturn, to overthrow, to tumble.”
Premise for Today’s Session
God can’t _________ _____ __________ that was __________
________ ____________ ________.
Seeing purpose in tough scenarios increases the trust required
for a turnaround.
Turn Around Scenario #5It’s tough being a woman in the tight fist of fear.
• The Jews weren’t just _____________, they were ________________.
(See Deut. 33:29; compare Neh. 4:10-14.)
• See Esther 9:2: “The Jews assembled in their cities.” The power wasn’t
just _______________. It was all of ____________.
• Every time you’re in a __________ _______ of fear, remember you’re
in something much ______________. Isaiah 49:16 says, “See, I have
_____________ ______ on the __________ ____ ____ __________.”
Turn Around Scenario #4It’s tough being a woman thrown a giant-size weight.
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esther 9:1-4viewer guide y session eight
upper hand
burden weapon
curse blessing
loves you
vehement
tenderness affection
flat cake turned over
mean
good fight
fight the good fight
faith good conscience
faith
opposite
personality
relationship
resemblance to him
• God always has the _______________ _____________. Exchange the
_____________ for a ____________ (1 Pet. 5:7; see Deut. 23:3-5).
“However, the Lord your God … turned the _____ into a ______
for you, because the Lord your God ____ ___ ” (Deut. 23:5).
Ahab—“Implies an ardent and ______________ inclination of the mind and
a _________________ of _____________ at the same time.”17
Consider the unique metaphor in Hosea 7:8
“Ephraim is a _______ _______ not __________ ________.”
Turn Around Scenario #3It’s tough being a woman in a mean world.
• In a ____________ world, New Testament believers are called
to a ____________ ____________.
“I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about
you, so that by following them you may _________ ____ ______ __ ____,
holding on to ________ and a ______ ______________. Some have
rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith” (1 Tim. 1:18-19).
Consider the following excerpt from The Queen and I:
“When, because of your ________, your life too becomes perceptibly
different; when your reactions are quite _______________ to what the
situation seems to call for and your activities can no longer be explained in
terms of your ________________; that is when your neighborhood will sit
up and take notice. In the eyes of the world, it is not our ________________
with Jesus Christ that counts; it is our _________________ ____ ______!”18
Video sessions are available for download at www.lifeway.com/women 199
We
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8 •
Th
e R
igh
t to
Be
Re
ad
y
esth
er 9
:1-4
concerted power
authority
aspired
deserved
unlikely partnership
Messiah
beauty
is a treatment
As the inspired writer puts the finishing touches on the
book, we will put the finishing touches on our approach
to its overarching theme—reversals of destiny.
Interestingly, a book called by Esther’s name and showcasing her beauty and
courage begins and ends without her. So, who is the Book’s real hero? Who
is the truest protagonist?
Consider the following thoughts:
Neither Esther nor Mordecai had the power or position alone to deliver
their people. It was only as they acted in ______________ _________
and ______________ that they were able to lead God’s people through
the crisis of death and into deliverance. Neither of them _____________
to the role; perhaps neither of them ______________ it. It was thrust on
them by a series of improbable circumstances largely beyond their control.
Nevertheless, their ____________ ________________ accomplished
God’s ancient promise, and the Jewish race was preserved until in the
fullness of time, God entered history through this people as the
_____________. How marvelous are God’s inscrutable ways!19
Recall Scenario #2
It’s tough being a woman in a world where ______________
____ ____ _______________.
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esther 9:29–10:3viewer guide y session nine
counterpart distinguished
maleness
everything beautiful in its
time
time diminishes beauty
time perfects
beauty
shelter of the Most High
shadow of the Almighty
Before we locate and record our “turn around” Scripture, consider
some of the possible implications of Genesis 3:16. Two different
Hebrew words are translated “man.” They are adam and ish.
When a distinction exists between the two, ish denotes “man as the
________________ of woman and/or ___________________ in his
_____________.”20 The word is first used in Genesis 2:24. In the KJV,
ish is translated “husband” 69 times and “man” or “men” 1212 times.
Turn Around Scenario #2It’s tough being a woman in a world where beauty is a
treatment.
“He has made _______________ ______________ ____ ____
_______” (Eccl. 3:11).
In man’s realm, ________ _______________ __________.
In God’s realm where we will spend forever, ______ __________
_________.
Turn Around Scenario #1It’s tough being a woman in another woman’s shadow.
“He who dwells in the __________ ____ ____ ________ ________
will rest in the ____________ ____ _____ ____________” (Ps. 91:1).
On the “Turn It Around!” page, write concise descriptions of each scenario
over the top of each corresponding box.
Video sessions are available for download at www.lifeway.com/women 223
esth
er 9
:29–
10:3
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9 •
Th
e T
ab
les
Tu
rne
d